The Swan Princess
by Dragongirl Writer
Summary: As children, Prince Bellamy and Princess Clarke were forced to spend their summers together, in the hopes that they would fall in love. Now, after a disastrous proposal, a kidnapping and a curse, their fate depends on that hope being true. Aka, a Swan Princess AU that was requested by exactly one person.
1. Prologue

Once upon a time, there was a great and mighty kingdom named Ark. Under the rule of King Jake and Queen Abigail, the land prospered and it's people were happy. The only thing missing from their life was a child of their own, an heir to the throne. For many years, they tried to no avail, and many began to fear that they would never succeed. Until the day when King Jake at last stood on the balcony and presented his new born daughter, Princess Clarke, to his people. Everyone rejoiced, and Kings and Queens from all over came to offer their congratulations and to meet the new royal. The most noteworthy among the guests was the recently widowed Queen of Skairu, Aurora, and her son, the young Prince Bellamy. As Bellamy kept Clarke entertained during the celebrations, the two mothers shared an idea for their future. The old friends agreed that the two children would spend their summers together in Skairu, in the hopes that they would one day fall in love and marry, finally uniting the two kingdoms.

Unknown to all, another plan was in the making, by the evil enchanter, Cage. He cared little for Clarke's birth, for he desired to rule Ark himself, and planned to fulfill that desire by the means of the dark arts. On the eve of his attack, when he believed everyone distracted with the new princess enough for his plan to work, Jake and his men ambushed him, seizing all of his work and diminishing his power as they destroyed it. Despite the countless calls for his execution, the enchanter was banished from Ark, with the promise of the highly desired death should he return. As he left, Cage vowed to Jake that everything that the king owned and loved, would one day be his.

Many feared King Jake too kind, but as the years went on, the threat was forgotten. All attention and hope turned to the not too distant summer, when Bellamy and Clarke would meet once again.


	2. Chapter 1: The first summer

**A/N: Here is the first chapter! Not entirely sure when the next one will be posted, hopefully I'll be finished with it by either the end of this week, or early on next week! Let me know what you guys think, really hope I haven't disappointed anyone yet!**

Princess Clarke shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she watched the scenery blur past through the carriage window. The six year old had never been good with long journeys, or sitting still in general. Usually, by the time her parents inform her that they have reached the Jaha's seaside mansion, she's nothing more than a ball of pent up energy, and spends the next hour or so running around the grounds before she even begins to show signs of tiredness. And that was only an hour and a journey. This one had already doubled that time and the coachman had just informed her father that they had only reached the halfway point (Well, he had made it sound like that was _quick_ , but Clarke strongly disagreed with him). Even with the half dozen pitstops the King had granted so that his daughter could dispel some of her never ending energy, she was still restless. Though, a small part of her knew that it could be attributed to the fact that, for the first time since she could remember, she would not be spending the summer with her best friend, young Lord Wells and his family.

Instead, she was being whisked away in the opposite direction, to the neighbouring kingdom, Skairu. She knew of Queen Aurora, her mother's oldest friend, and her two children. However, she had not seen them since she was a little over four months old and therefore, did not remember them beyond her mother's mentions of them. Princess Octavia was only a few months younger than herself, and apparently just as energetic and boisterous as she was. Clarke admitted that she was looking forward to meeting the other girl, though she knew that it was the older sibling that her parents wanted to meet. Prince Bellamy was a whole four years older than her, and the only other thing she knew about him was that her mother thought he was growing into a strapping young man. She had no idea why that was any of her concern, but her mother seemed to thing it was important.

In fact, from what Clarke could tell from the hushed conversations she overheard between her parents, her mother thought that the entire coming summer was of vital importance. Which annoyed the young princess to no end, because no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't figure out why. If there was one thing she hated more than sitting still, it was not knowing things. She had of course tried asking her father about it, the second the carriage left the castle grounds (she thought she might've had a better chance away from her mother). He had simply laughed, gave her a knowing smile and told her not to worry about it. Which was easy enough for _him_ to say. He already knew what was going on, and why the queen had decided to change her routine summer plans. All she got in lieu of answers, was an extremely long journey that was taking forever and a strange feeling in her stomach that something was being kept secret from her on purpose. It hadn't even properly started, and she didn't like how this summer was turning out. Not in the slightest.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the journey, young Prince Bellamy had locked himself in his room. The ten year old was not impressed with the summer plans his mother had made, and had no problems informing the entire castle about his opinion on the matter. There was no way he was going to spend his entire summer with a girl not that much older than Octavia. Sure, he loved his baby sister, and he loved playing with her. That's what big brothers did with their little sisters. She also wasn't like the other girls that age. Octavia loved to run around the castle gardens, climbing trees and pretend to have sword fights with him, like the ones in the fairytale books he reads to her at night. Other girls, from what he could tell, preferred to have tea parties and were too worried about their (in his opinion) silly frilly dresses to ever stray from the garden paths. In other words, they were no fun, and like most his age, Bellamy was stubbornly certain that this Princess Clarke would be just like those girls. Only, she will be far more annoying to him, because she'll force him to participate in the boring and girly activities, because she would be the guest. Well, not if he could help it. He was going to stay in his room until the undoubtedly awful girl went away. Nothing his mother, or anyone for that matter, could say would change his mind. Which is why he was currently curled up by the window and glaring out through it.

Queen Aurora was a patient and kind woman, and so had let her son sulk in his room as he saw fit. However, when the chamberlain announced that the Ark royal carriage had arrived at the gate, her patience had worn out. She sent her guards to summon him, and drag him down if necessary. She knew that however upset at the idea he was, he would be the dutiful prince and stand by her side to greet King Jake and Princess Clarke. She, like her old friends, just hoped that the two would get along well enough for their plan to work. 

As far as Bellamy was concerned, things were off to a terrible start. Not only did he have to 'properly greet' King Jake and Princess Clarke (he hated bowing and being forced to say the pleasantries he was taught), but his mother also made him take the blonde girl's hand and kiss the back of it. It was a small comfort, but Clarke seemed to be just as disgusted at the gesture as he was. She pulled her hand away as quickly as she could, wiping it on the skirts of her simple, blue dress. The look of horror on her face made him laugh, quickly turning the look into a glare as she raised her fists up, daring him to try something. He wasn't sure what, but the act reminded him of Octavia when her governess tried to stop her from kicking her ball in the muddy grass. The thought just annoyed him, because if she was like his sister, it meant that he was wrong, and he hated being wrong. King Jake gently scolded his daughter, reminding her that they were guests here and she would have to behave herself. She pouted at being told off, but nodded and mumbled a small apology to his mother for how she acted. His mother laughed off her apology, and ushered everyone inside for afternoon tea.

He _hated_ afternoon tea. It meant sitting up straight, putting up with talking about boring things like his lessons, eating small sandwiches, and being constantly reminded to chew with his mouth closed. How was he supposed to answer questions with his mouth closed? He never understood why adults felt the need to talk as they ate. Mealtimes should be quick, and filled with delicious treats. Clarke, he noticed did not have the issues he seemed to have with the talking bit, waiting to finish what was in her mouth before speaking. She did seem to shift a lot in her seat, and her father seemed to notice, asking if she wanted to run about after they ate. She practically beamed at the prospect and nodded eagerly, turning to Octavia and asking if she wanted to play with her. His sister, excited at the prospect of having a friend like her, agreed, and offered to play with her ball in the gardens. Clarke agreed and asked if they could be excused then, not being able to sit still any longer, and much to his annoyance, their parents agreed. The two girl went dashing off, giggling all the way down the hall, leaving him alone with the two adults. It was the first time his little sister had forgotten about him and he did not like it one bit. Aurora noticed his foul mood, sighed and dismissed him from the table, letting him do as he pleased before dinner. At least he was right about something, he thought as he made his way to his room. This was going to be an awful summer.

The summer was turning out not to be as bad as Clarke had feared it. Her mother was right about Octavia, the girl was just as adventurous as she was, and didn't mind playing games like hide and seek, or running about the gardens, instead of playing with the dolls the other girls had. She even seemed to like drawing as well, although it was easy to tell that she didn't have the same talent for it as the other girl had. She was quickly becoming one of Clarke's favourite people, just as her brother was quickly becoming one of her least favourite. She had never really hated anyone before, and was not used to the feeling. Bellamy was loud, rude and stubborn, and for some reason, felt the need to argue about everything when their parents forced them to spend time with each other. She didn't know what his problem was, _she_ wasn't the one who made him kiss her hand when they first met (that still confused her). Nor was it her fault that their parents were under the extremely wrong opinion that the two would get along. Spending time with the prince made her miss Wells, sweet, kind Wells. He never had a problem with Clarke wanting to pretend to be a knight when they played.

"You can't be a knight," Bellamy told her. "You're a girl. You're supposed to be the princess that's in the tower."  
"Why does it always have to be the boy that saves the girl?" She asked, crossing her arms and pouting. "Girls can do just as much as boys can!"  
"Because that's how it is in books! And girls can't do everything boys can! Boys are a lot stronger than girls!"  
"Do you really think so?"  
"Yes! All the books say so!"  
"Well this is what I think of you and your silly books!"  
Clarke took advantage of how close they got when they started yelling at each other by stamping on his foot and storming off. Leaving a scowling Bellamy in her wake.

Most of their arguments went along this vein, and on more than one occasion did the two have to be physically restrained to prevent either of them harming the other. Though Jake was concerned, he had never seen his daughter behave like this, Aurora was not. She knew her son well enough to know that he actually liked the younger girl, but was still in the stage where he didn't want to admit that he was wrong. She assured her friend that the two would grow out of it, and even if they didn't end up together like they hoped, at least Clarke and Octavia would become close friends as a result.

By the time the end of summer arrived, Clarke was both sad and happy to go home. She would miss her new friend, and had made a promise to write to her as often as she could, once they both learnt how to write properly. Bellamy she wouldn't miss at all, and she made sure he knew it.  
"The feeling's mutual princess," Was all he said.  
As she got back into the carriage, she heard her father tell Aurora that it would be her mother's turn to accompany her the next summer. She sighed at that, her plans of trying to convince her parents that Octavia should come to Ark and spend the summer with her and Wells diminishing. There was no way Queen Abigail would let her get away with not seeing Bellamy again.  
The prince had also overheard the information and groaned. One summer was bad enough. He wasn't sure if he could survive a second one, no matter how far away it was. The two children caught each other's eyes and had the same thought go through their minds.

Next summer was not going to be their idea of fun.


	3. Chapter Two: A Summary of Summers

**A/N:** **WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S BEEN A YEAR AND A HALF? I am so sorry. REALLY SORRY.**

 **Seriously, did not realise it's been that long. Got super annoyed at the show and couldn't write anything to do with it TBH. Then life happened which caused the mother of all writer's block. This is the most I have written in a long time. Honestly, my friend was confused as to why I was typing so much. Okay, it's midnight here, and I'm posting this without touching it so I don't lose my nerve. Sorry for any mistakes.  
Please let me know what you think. :)**

Chapter Two: A Summary of Summers The next few summers that followed, did little in the way of improving matters. On the one hand, even at their respective young ages, the two heirs showed great promise of being headstrong, intelligent leaders who would not back down easily. On the other, they decided to show this by continuing their trend of arguing with each other over anything and everything the moment they were within yelling distance of each other. There was only two things that they would ever agree on; that they both loved Octavia, and that they wanted to spend as little time with each other as they possibly could. The first fact was quickly proving to complicate the second. Though Bellamy had made it clear that he did not want the two princesses following him and his friends around all summer, Octavia was not used to being refused by her older brother. So, she would stubbornly follow them anyway, with Clarke naturally by her side, and try to do what the boys would anyway. This would always end with Bellamy yelling at Clarke that girls, and her in particular, were annoying, and she would respond by saying that boys were rude and she didn't want to be near him anyway. The argument remained on continuous loop until The Treehouse Incident near the end of the third summer. It was then replaced with the argument over which of the two parties involved- Bellamy, Miller and Jasper or Clarke and Octavia- was to blame for the collapse and subsequent injuries that followed. All that came from it on the adults side was the agreement that the children, particularly Bellamy and Clarke, could no longer be trusted without constant supervision. An arrangement that suited the two just fine, since they could then just ignore the other all day until dinner. With the arrangement still miraculously in tact, Clarke continued the tradition over the coming summers of going to Skairu with one of her parents. As Bellamy had turned thirteen the next summer, and started his training as a knight and future King, they saw very little of each other outside of dinners and royal functions. They still argued when they saw each other of course, but had learnt to restrain themselves to normal levels of conversation as they did so. Nor did it ever get physical, as they still remembered the feeling of broken bones. Bellamy grew into a handsome young man, who was well aware of the affect he had on those around him. Where he would have once recoiled from the attention he received from the girls of the court, he now found himself enjoying them, and even returned them on occasion. Especially after his mother voiced her disapproval of his flirting while he was practically engaged. Not that he supposed intended minded at the time. She and Octavia, enjoying their last few years as children, created a game out of it. They would come up with multiple ways of embarrassing him in front of any girl he was trying to impress. Their favourite part was that he couldn't retaliate, or he would lose favour with the girl instantly, as most of the castle adored the duo. Miller and Jasper proved to be of no help in these incidences. The latter was going through girl problems of his own (what with not being able to get the attention of one while the Crown Prince of the kingdom was right there), and the former found it just as entertaining as Clarke and Octavia to embarrass both of his friends. It was a system that worked until the summer Octavia became gravely ill. Though the adults assured both of them that she would be fine, Clarke and Bellamy still insisted on waiting outside her chambers until they were told that they would allowed to visit for a short amount of time each day. During the times that they weren't allowed to see her, they eventually began to talk to each other. First about Clarke's new lessons. As she had turned thirteen, her parents had thought it time to increase the details and content of her lessons. She cautiously informed him that while she loved art, languages and geography, the history of their two kingdoms was proving to be hard for her to muster. It was the first time either of them had willingly given the other something to tease them about. However, instead of teasing, Bellamy offered her help. He loved history and literature, and took any opportunity to talk about it. Clarke was surprised to find that she liked this side of Bellamy. He wasn't being rude, or trying to impress anyone by being an over confident ass. Just as Bellamy was surprised that she wasn't annoying and trying to argue with everything he said. Instead, she listened to him intently, and wrote down notes about he was explaining to her. They then began to talk about other things they enjoyed, with more being mutual than what they were wiling to admit. Arguments still arose, as it was in their nature at this point to do so, but they no longer held the heat that they once did. Octavia was confused by the change once she recovered, but was happy that her two favourite people were finally getting along.  
Their friendship steadily began to grow. They slowly became inseparable during the summer days, as their mothers had hoped would happen when they were younger. Even King Jake, who had been skeptical of the outcome of the arrangement since The Treehouse Incident, had to admit that there was something potentially there. Not that Bellamy and Clarke noticed. They were still getting used to considering each other friends and not breaking out into a heated argument every time they talked. Everyone else, unfortunately for them, were not as oblivious. They watched as the two would stand incredibly close to each other during functions, trading private commentary and jokes until their friends could join them. The looks that each of them would sneak when they thought the other wasn't looking. Few were brave enough to ever point it out to the two. No one wanted to be the one to prevent the possible marriage simply because Bellamy and Clarke were too stubborn to admit how they felt.  
Or in Clarke's case, admit the possibility in the first place. Since finally learning what the aim of the summer visits were at fifteen, when she over heard a few maids talking about if they would work the wedding, or if the union of the two kingdoms would lower the taxes, she was determined to never think of Bellamy in that way. She had even told him so, right after talking (yelling) to her parents. The only reason she didn't demand to go home right then was that she was genuinely friends with the boys and Octavia, and her father had assured her that she didn't have to marry Bellamy if she truly didn't want to. Bellamy at the time had agreed, and saw no reason why they couldn't have the same treaty that their parents currently held. It took him until his twenty first birthday to realise that he might not want the same treaty. The ceremony of being officially Crowned Prince of Skairu left him full with nervous energy. He had been raised for the responsibility of leading his kingdom since before he could remember, but it suddenly felt more real the moment the gold circlet was placed on his head. He needed Clarke to calm him down, again, and automatically began to look for her in the crowd. His stomach dropped when he found her, flirting with one of the guards. It was like being punched, and he hated that he felt that way. It was Clarke. The annoying princess who somehow became one of his closest friends. He shouldn't care if she wanted to flirt with someone. Hell, he had done his fair share when he was her age. Rather than going up to her and interrupting, he decided to have a celebratory drink with Miller and Jasper. Or seven. Which is why he made the mistake of bringing up the Clarke flirting with his two incredibly unsympathetic friends. Miller told him that his crush was obvious even to a blind beggar, to grow a pair and talk to her, while Jasper began to loudly break into several love ballads. Bellamy didn't remember much of the night after that point, and had a very bad feeling that he needed to find Clarke and apologise to her. However, by the time he staggered to her chambers, there was nothing but a note left for him explaining that she and her mother had already left for Ark, and to tell him not to worry, he was still her favourite. Favourite what, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know. It did make him realise that his feelings may not be strictly of the friendly kind, and that he would have to talk to her face to face when she returned the next summer. Clarke was not to return to Skairu the following summer. Wells, her childhood friend, had died just before she was due to leave. Queen Abigail sent her regrets and informed them that Wells was like a brother to Clarke and she was going to spend the summer with the Jahas to properly grieve and help his family in any way she could. Bellamy sent Clarke a letter, expressing his sympathies and extending the offer to talk should she need it. Her response was short, thanking him, and telling him that she just needed time.  
The summer after, King Jake decided that it was time for Clarke to participate in a peace treaty and took her to the Queendom of Trikru. Clarke sent Bellamy frequent letters during her trip, telling him of all the things she saw that was different, and what she was learning. He became slightly concerned with the amount of times she mentioned the young Queen of Trikru, Queen Lexa. She had once confided in him that she felt as though she could be happy with either a man or a woman, and she certainly sounded happy with Lexa. He decided that if that was the case, then he would be determined to be happy for her, even if it didn't make him happy.  
Clarke certainly thought Lexa was making her happy in the beginning. Then Lexa began noticing how much time Clarke would spend each day, making notes of things to tell Bellamy (as well as Octavia, but Bellamy's name appeared a lot more in her writing). She eventually confronted the princess about this, stating that if she was already in love with someone, she should tell her now. Clarke tried to deny the accusations, but found herself unable to do so. She spent the rest of the trip simply observing her father, as she tried to figure out her feelings. The confusion left her unable to write anything to Bellamy, for fear of writing something stupid to him. This left Bellamy worried that something happened to her, until King Jake wrote him, assuring him that she was fine, and that with the peace treaty agreed upon, they would join them in Skairu the next summer. A year had never felt so long. 


End file.
